Casinos Want Ban on Sports Prediction Market Bets

The battle carries on. New Jersey’s casino industry is seeking for the federal government to restrict prediction market platforms from offering sports-related contracts on sporting events that could potentially be in conflict with state laws regarding gambling. 

Moreover, the industry is looking to prevent these platforms from offering these types of bets with special emphasis on those US states where sports betting is not yet deemed legal. 

CFTC Asked to Stop Top Prediction Companies 

According to The Press of Atlantic City, on Monday, July, 27, the Casino Association of New Jersey submitted comments to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), urging the agency to stop companies like Kalshi and Polymarket from enabling users to place event-based contracts on events that could conflict with state gambling laws.

The move comes as prediction markets, which allow users to trade contracts based on the outcome of future events, have rapidly expanded across the United States. 

Unlike traditional sportsbooks, these platforms operate under federal commodities regulations, creating a legal debate over whether certain sports contracts should be treated as gambling.

New Jersey has already attempted to block Kalshi from operating in the state, but a federal court ruling prevented the state from enforcing its ban.

Ongoing Tensions

The dispute once again highlights the growing tension between traditional gambling operators and emerging prediction market companies. 

New Jersey’s casino industry argues that allowing sports-related prediction contracts could create an uneven playing field and undermine state-regulated sports betting markets.

The state played a major role in expanding legal sports betting across the US after its 2018 Supreme Court victory overturned a federal restriction, allowing individual states to decide whether to legalize wagering on sports. 

Since then, no less than 39 states and Washington, D.C. have made sports betting legal, with key hubs including New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.